


Run Away

by Geekygirl24



Series: Tracy Family [6]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Grief/Mourning, perceived character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-06 21:05:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4236606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekygirl24/pseuds/Geekygirl24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was meant to be a simple take-your-son to work day. Who knew that it would end like this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Take-Your-Son to Work Day

**Author's Note:**

> Summer is the prime time for my muse apparently….well here we go again.
> 
> The reference that I made to John’s illness is explained in more detail in my story, He’s my son, which can be found on my page, fanfiction or A03 :).
> 
> I hope you enjoy this and please read and review :).

“Push Mrs Tracy, PUSH!”

Jeff winced as his wife squeezed his hand, shaking her head as the doctors wheeled her down the hospital corridor. 

“No…No…” she whimpered, “…It’s too early. He’s not due for another four weeks!”

As she was wheeled into the delivery room, she attempted to get up, only to scream in pain as the next contraction hit causing her to collapse back down onto the bed.

“Okay, we’ll need you to push with the next contraction!”

“But it’s too soon!”

“We know Mrs Tracy, but your baby is coming and he’s coming now!”

Jeff attempted to sit closer, however, he was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder. A nurse smiled sympathetically at Jeff. “Sir, there’s a gentlemen who wants to see you outside. He says it’s an emergency?”

Jeff shook his head as he heard Lucy scream again, “Tell him he’s just going to have to wait. I’m a little busy at the moment!”

“Sir, he’s insisting. Says that he’s your business partner? He said that if you didn’t come out, then he’d come in!” 

Jeff sighed wearily, looking at his wife when she tugged on his hand, “Go on Jeff….go see what he wants…just be quick, okay?”

Jeff nodded and quickly made his way out of the room. In the corridor waited his business partner, Mr Michael Davis, who was tapping his cane impatiently. “You missed this morning’s meeting Jefferson. It was rather important you know?”

Jeff shook his head, “In case you haven’t noticed Michael, but I’m very busy at the moment. Lucy has gone into labour early!”

Michael sighed, “And I feel for you, I really do. But this business is important and without your input, this deal may not go through!”

“My family is more important! Now, can you please go back to the office and make copies of the FX-264 files. I’ll call you later…”

Michael scowled at the dismissal, but before he could leave there was an ear-piercing shriek from the delivery room before…silence. Jeff shot back into the room, fear in his eyes, “Lucy? LUCY!”

His wife was sitting upright in the bed as the doctors were working on a small bundle in the corner. Lucy glanced up at Jeff, “The baby…what about the baby?”

Jeff glanced at the Doctors who were sighing in relief, “Your son is a very lucky and very stubborn little boy. We’ve managed to stabilize him…would you like to see him?” 

The couple nodded and the Doctors placed a squirming bundle into Lucy’s arms. Jeff glanced over her shoulder and smiled. The baby had very light blonde hair and, due to the dim light, the baby had his eyes slightly open, showing that they were blue.

“He looks just like you…” whispered Jeff, “Blonde hair, blue eyes…he’s going to be a carbon copy of you.”

Lucy smiled, “His hair might get darker sweetie, remember what Scott’s hair was like? His was a lot lighter when he was born than it is now. And the eye colour might change as well, he may end up with your brown eyes.”

Jeff shook his head, “Nah…I’ll bet that when he gets older, you two could pass as twins!”

“I think that by that time, I’ll look far too old to be his twin!” 

“You’ll still look like a goddess to me…”

Lucy laughed, “You know, we still have to pick out a name for him…are we still going with John?”

Jeff nodded, “John…Glenn…Tracy.”

Lucy sighed, “You and your astronauts.”

……………………………Six Years Later……………………………………………….

“Daddy!” Jeff squeezed his eyes closed. Maybe if he ignored him, he would give up.

“Daddy!” 

Jeff felt his wife tap him on the arm, “Your son wants you…” she whispered.

Jeff sighed, “Before sunrise, he’s your son...”

“Daddy! Come on, you pwomised!” Jeff grunted as he felt a small, but sudden, weight land on his stomach. He blearily opened his eyes to find his son, John, sitting on his chest and glaring at him. The trouble was that John was six years old….and therefore wasn’t very threatening.

Jeff grinned, “Alright kiddo…but you do know that I don’t go to work for another two hours right?” John nodded and Jeff sighed, wrapping his arm around his son to gently encourage him to lie down, “So, we’re not leaving for a while Spaceman. Let Daddy sleep for a bit longer…”

Jeff closed his eyes to the sound of John giggling in his ear. His son’s breathing was still a little laboured due to the serious illness that he had almost a year ago. It was better than it was, but still not perfect. The doctors had ordered that John avoid heavy exercise for a while, until he was fully recovered. 

Well, a day at his office shouldn’t tax John too much.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

“Are you still okay Johnny? You don’t need anything?” Jeff asked as he watched his son squeeze the arm-rests of his chair on the plane.

John glanced at him shakily, “Yeah, Daddy. I’m okay….I don’t think I weally like this though Daddy!”

Jeff chuckled as he gently pried one of his son’s hands off of the arm-rest so that he could hold it in his own. “I thought you wanted to be an astronaut kiddo?”

“I do! But that’s in space, not in the sky!”

“You have to travel in the sky before you can get to space!”

“…Maybe I’ll get used to it?”

Jeff nodded, “I have no doubts about that…look! We’re almost there now!”

The pair watched as the land grew closer and closer until they finally landed on a private runway at Heathrow Airport. Jeff lifted his son out of the seat and exited the plane, nodding his head in greeting when he saw his personal assistant, Miss Felton, at the base of the plane stairs.

She smiled at them, “I’ve got the car ready Mr Tracy. I’m assuming that this little man is John?” 

John, who had previously had his head buried in his Dad’s shoulder, glanced up and nodded shyly. Jeff chuckled, “You getting all shy on me now Spaceman?”

He laughed when he felt John shake his head against his shoulder, and the three of them made their way to the car and within the next half an hour, they were pulling up outside of a large building. Once again, Jeff lifted John out of the seat and they entered the building.

Jeff placed John on the ground and gently took his hand so that he could lead John around the area, “Over there is where we develop new engines for cars. Over there is the flight stimulation area where we develop new aircrafts and-“Jeff paused at the expectant look on his son’s face, “You want to know where all of the space stuff is don’t you?”

John nodded eagerly and bounced up and down. Jeff laughed, “Alright, alright. It’s just down here, but you have to stay with me alright? There are some very dangerous things in here, and I don’t want you to get hurt alright?”

John tilted his head to the side as they walked towards the space research centre, “What kind of dangewous things?”

“Well…like rockets that could be tested at any moment…or the new gravity ring, you don’t want to get trapped in that. Or-“

“Ah Jefferson. There you are!”

Jeff sighed and turned around at the voice, plastering a fake smile on his face. “Michael! What can I do for you? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little busy right now. It’s Take-Your-Son to work day, and this time, it’s Johnny’s turn.”

Michael glanced down at Jeff’s legs just in time to spot John shyly wave from behind his Dad’s legs. “Of course…” Michael muttered, “…and I am very sorry about this, but one of the workers on the new V45 jet needs to speak to you. There’s something wrong with the combustor apparently?”

Jeff sighed and knelt down to speak to his son, “Johnny, I’m just going to rush over to the aircraft section and see what the problem is, okay? It’s very dangerous, so you can’t come with me, but my friend Michael here will stay with you, won’t you Michael?”

Michael sighed, “Of course…it would be my pleasure.” Jeff nodded and gently patted John on the shoulder, before heading towards the air-travel section.

John glanced up at Michael who had begun to frantically text someone, “I wanna be an astronaut you know…”

“That’s fascinating…” Michael drawled, his eyes still firmly attached to his phone.

“Yeah…but I don’t like flying. Not like Scotty, he loves it!”

“Wonderful…excuse me for just a second?” Michael strode over to the end of the corridor where three employees were waiting. “I assume everything is ready Sid?”

Sid nodded, “Yeah Boss-man. Nobody will be there for the rest of the day and Mindy here…” he pointed at his female companion, “….swiped the key-card that will allow us to switch the machine on.” 

“Good. And you’re sure nobody can trace it back to me?”

“Positive Boss!”

“Excellent…now go! I’ll do the rest.”

The three of them nodded before heading off towards the space section, chuckling to themselves as Michael headed back towards John.

“John?” 

John glanced up at Michael who smirked at the boy, “I’ve just had a text off of your Daddy and he’s got a surprise for you!”

John shot up out of his seat, “A surpwise! Weally!?”

“Really, really! He’s asked me to take you to a special meeting place…shall we?” He held out his hand for John to take. John grabbed his hand and nodded as they headed further into the space section.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read and review :)

Michael grinned to himself as he led the small boy away from the more crowded areas of the workplace. They travelled right to the back of the area where there was a lone door at the end of the corridor.

“Just through here is where your Dad is going to meet you, okay?”

John nodded as Michael pushed open the door. There was a small pathway leading around a deep ring that resembled the graviton wheels that were found at fairgrounds. In the middle of the ring, there was an office complex that stood around 4 to 5 metres higher than the ring section. This complex held all of the computers that were used to control the gravity ring…not that John knew that.

“Alright…” grunted Michael as he lowered John down into the ring, “….now, you just stay here whilst I go and check with your Daddy about all of the details about your surprise!”

John frowned up at Mr Davis, “Why can’t you just text him?”

“…His phone might be on silent, it’s easier to ask him in person…”

“Why can’t you tell me what the surpwise is?”

“Well if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise would it?!”

“If you tell me, then I’ll still act surpwised!”

“Hmmmmm, those big blue eyes aren’t going to crack me. No, you’ll just have to wait.”

“PPPLLLLEEEAAASSSEEE!”

“No, no, no. You and your Daddy need some Father-Son time. I imagine you don’t get much, what with having…four other brothers? That must be very tiring for you…”

John shook his head, “No, because Scotty and Virg know when I need to be alone and Gordon prefers swimming than bothering me. Alan is too little to be left alone, so I get a lot of quiet time. Me and Daddy watch the stars sometimes!”

“Fascinating…and it’s Daddy and I. Well, I’d better go sort all of this out then hadn’t I? O…don’t touch anything…please.”

John nodded as Mr Davis left. Curious, he wandered around the ring, every so often jumping up and down on the spot. Glancing around, he quickly plucked a small action figure from out of his pocket and held it up to his face.

“Come on Neil Armstwong. Let’s go on an adventure!”

…………………………………………………..

Sid grinned as his phone buzzed.

NOW.

………………………………………………………..

“And then Neil waced towards the wocket ship. Aliens! Aliens!” John ran around the ring, his action figure out in front of him as his imagination went wild. Suddenly, the ring lurched backwards before slowly spinning round. John lost his balance and fell to the ground causing him to giggle in shock. The giggles soon stopped however…when he found that as the ring got slightly faster, it became harder to get up.

“DADDY!!”

……………………………………………………………….

“….and the fan keeps halting every few minutes without warning. My real problem is with-“

Jeff held up a hand, halting the worker in his rant. “The combustor, what about the combustor?”

The worker frowned but before he could say anything, Jeff held up his hand again as his pager beeped in his pocket. “Hmmmmm, that’s strange. The gravity wheel’s been activated…”

At that moment, Michael Davis burst into the room, panic clear in his eyes. “Sir, I swear! I only looked away for a moment! He just wandered off!”

“Woah, woah, woah! Slow down Michael!” ordered Jeff, “What are you talking about?!”

“John! He just walked off when I was checking something on my phone. The Gravity Ring area door is unlocked…I think he might be in there!”

Jeff’s face went pale and he found himself running towards the Gravity Ring. He flung the door open only to gasp in shock when saw the ring speeding up, a flash a blonde hair occasionally catching his eye.

“JOHN!” he yelled as he prepared to jump down into the ring, “HOLD ON! DADDY’S COMING!”

“DADDY! I CAN’T MOVE!” 

Jeff flinched at this, before making the decision to jump into the ring mid-spin. He yelped as he felt his ankle sprain at the landing. “JOHNNY!”

Jeff dragged himself along the ring until he reached his crying son, who was trying to push himself off of the ground. “Don’t worry Johnny, I’ve got you!” 

Wincing, Jeff managed to wrap his arms around his son and drag himself up into a kneeling position. “Okay Johnny, you’re going to have to let go because I need to get you out of here!”

“Daddy, I can’t breathe!”

“I know Johnny…on the count of three, I’m going to throw you onto the pathway, okay?”

“Okay Daddy…”

“Three…Two…ONE!” Using all of his strength, Jeff threw his son onto the pathway, just as the ring sped up again. He yelped as the increase in gravity forced him to his hands and knees and then onto his stomach.

John stretched his hand towards his Dad, “DAD!” he screamed as the ring increased again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

It was times like this, Jeff really appreciated the training he went through to become an astronaut. Through considerable effort, he managed to pull himself to his feet and stumble towards the pathway. Gritting his teeth, he managed to jump just high enough to grab onto the edge and pull the top half of his body up onto the pathway just as the ring sped up again.

He grunted as a stabbing pain in his chest increased, indicating cracked ribs, as he tried to pull himself up further. Turning his head, he attempted to see where John was….but the control centre was in the way. “Great…” he muttered.

“Having trouble Jefferson?”

Jeff glanced up at the voice and sighed in relief, “Michael! Thank God! Give me a hand would you?”

Michael smirked at his business partner, “I don’t think so Jefferson. You see, this company needs someone giving it their full attention…not some washed-up astronaut who would rather play Daddy every day!”

Jeff frowned in confusion, but Michael continued, “You see Jefferson, I don’t purely blame you for this…your children are the true culprits. Imagine my surprise when you brought one into work today! My little take-over plan could be put into action and the whole world will soon learn just how poor of a leader Jefferson Tracy really is! So incompetent that he died due to a mixture of a horrible mistake…and trying to save his precious son, who died after playing in an unattended gravity ring that was due for a test. Sad really…”

Jeff sneered, “Joke’s on you Michael…John’s safe and sound, in fact, he’s probably halfway out of here getting help by now!”

Michael shook his head, “Not from what I heard…if you listen really closely, you can still hear him calling for you at the other side of this marvellous machine. The plan will have to change then…the world will mourn when they found out John Tracy died due to blunt force trauma to the head. I’m sure I can…” Jeff found his attention drawn to Michael’s cane which Michael was lifting up in a threatening position, “…figure out a way to make that happen without drawing too much attention to it. After all, when John was trying to help you after you saved him…it’s entirely possible that he fell in, bashing his head off of something.”

Jeff growled, “You sick, son of a –“Jeff was cut off when Michael hit him in the head with his cane, knocking him out immediately, meaning that he lost his grip on the pathway edge and fell back into the ring, which was now spinning at an alarming rate.

Michael heard a heart-breaking wail from the other side of the ring, “NOOOOOOOO!” Hmmmmm, the body must have made its way back around to the boy. However, before he could make his way around, the gravity ring began to slow down until it finally stopped. His phone buzzed.

SORRY BOSS. SOMEONE HAS SWITCHED IT OFF IN THE ELECTRICAL CONTROL ROOM. NOTHING WE CAN DO. EMERGENCY SERVICES HAVE BEEN CALLED.

Growling, he made his way around the ring just in time to spot the six year old clamber down into the ring, probably to find his Dad. Thinking to himself, Michael smirked. Maybe he could work this to his advantage.

………………………………………………………………

John clambered down into the ring and immediately began to look around, “Dad? Dad?!” He ran around the ring only to stop in his tracks when he saw a crumpled heap in the middle of the ring.

“Dad?” he whispered as he crept closer. Once he got closer, it became clear that the heap was his Dad. There was blood coming out of his nose and mouth and he wasn’t moving. John knelt besides his Dad and bean to shake him, “Dad! Come on, you gotta get up! Dad…I wanna go home!”

John tugged and pushed at the body of his Dad, only to stop and scream “HELP! SOMEBODY….ANYBODY…help” 

Realising that his Dad wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon, John began to sob, curling up besides his Dad as a futile gesture of comfort. He remained there for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes. Suddenly, he heard a voice from the side of him,

“John…what have you done?!”

John span around to see Michael standing there, his cane still in his hand as he frowned down at John. “I-it was an accident, but I didn’t touch anything I swear! It just started!” 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Michael bent down and placed two fingers on Jeff’s neck. 

A pulse…weak, but definitely there. Dammit.

“He’s dead…” Michael could hear John gasp at the statement, “…and you must have touched something otherwise this would never have happened! Your Dad would still be alive….what on earth will your Mom think?!”

He turned around to see John wringing his hands together, “I-I…What should I do?!”

“Run…” John stared at him, “Run! Run away and don’t come back!” Michael lifted John onto the pathway and pointed to a separate door, “There’s the emergency exit…it leads out into the main streets…now go!” 

John glanced at his Dad before pushing the door open and running away. Literally seconds afterwards, Michael glanced at his three workers. “Sid. Ed…kill him, but take those employee jackets off first. Mindy. Wipe the security cameras.” 

Sid and Ed sped off after John and Michael remained where he was, just in time for the emergency services to enter the room in order to check out Jeff.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

John gasped and panted as he heard footsteps from behind him. Glancing in that direction, he saw one of the men pull out a knife. “Come here kid…I promise it won’t hurt!” 

John continued to run until he ran into a dead end. Spinning around he pressed himself against the wall, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. One of the men lunged at the boy, nicking him in the arm with the knife as John attempted to dodge it. John yelped in pain as he tried to stop the blood with his other hand. However, before the man could strike again, the two attackers were grabbed and had their heads bashed against each other, knocking them out instantly. As John began to lose consciousness, he heard another, very different, voice.

“Hello…what have we ‘ere then?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m glad everyone is enjoying it so far :) 
> 
> Please read and review :)

“It’s going to be touch and go for a while Mrs Tracy. The gravity ring caused severe internal bleeding and it took us a while to stop it. However, he’s still alive and we plan to keep it that way.”

Lucille Tracy nodded at the doctor as she rocked Alan back and forth in her arms. Tears were falling down her face. Her eyes kept wandering back to her husband, who was unconscious in a hospital bed with wires transmitting fluids, blood and medicine to practically every part of his body. 

The doctor glanced sympathetically at the small family. The two oldest boys were clearly trying to remain strong for their mother, but the youngest were sobbing into teddies or their mother. “I’m very sorry for your loss…” he muttered as he left the room.

Gordon began to tug on Lucy’s shirt in order to get her attention, “Mommy! Mommy, where John?” 

Lucy felt her knees collapse from under her and she fell into a chair by Jeff’s bedside, Alan still in her arms. “Johnny…Johnny’s not coming back sweetie…”

“Why?!”

“He-he…” Lucy found herself unable to contain her sobs as she began to wail into Alan’s neck, rocking backwards and forwards in an attempt to calm herself down.

Scott felt tears welling in his own eyes as he placed a gentle arm around Gordon’s shoulders, John’s toy astronaut (which had been found by Jeff’s body) still in his hand. “Johnny’s…in heaven now…”

Gordon frowned at Scott for a few minutes before shrieking and hitting Scott in the chest, “LIAR!”

Scott dropped John’s toy on the floor in order to properly comfort his little brother, “I’m sorry…but I’m not lying Fish. I wish I was…”

Virgil watched as Scott continued to comfort Gordon. Wiping away his own tears, Virgil bent down to pick the toy astronaut up and then placed it by his Dad’s head. “We’re sorry Daddy…we are so sorry…”

………………………………………………………………………………

John flinched as he felt water splash on his face. Opening his eyes he startled back as he came face to face with a much older gentleman with a rather prominent nose.

“Aaah, you’re finally h’awake then!” The man walked away, giving John the chance to examine his surroundings. He seemed to be in some kind of loft room, the sun streaming through an oval window in the wall opposite him. The side of the room he was on was made up of mattresses and old blankets that sufficed as a bed. The rest of the room held various objects, including stuff that looked like it belonged in a museum.

“W-where am I?” whispered John, wincing as his arm ached with the effort of pushing himself off of the mattress. “Who are you?!”

The man span around and grinned at the boy, bowing as he did so. “You can call me H’ Aloysius Parker, m’friends call me Nosey….h’and who might you be? You must be pretty h’important for those rapscallions to be chasing you!” 

John shrugged and he tried to make seem even smaller. He buried his head in his arms and began to sob, the day’s events coming back to haunt him.

“O, now, now, now….” Whispered Aloysius as he slowly made his way over to the crying boy. Ignoring the way the child flinched away from him, Aloysius placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Now you tell h’old Aloysius what’s wrong. H’it can’t be that bad!”

John glanced up, tears streaming down his face and nodded before burying his head back in his arms.

Aloysius felt his heart twinge with sympathy as the volume of the boy’s sobs increased. “H’alright….well, whatever it is…you can stay ‘ere, but h’only for a bit mind you!”

John glanced back up at him and nodded, a grateful smile on his face. “T’ank you…I’m John.” He held out his hand for Aloysius to shake. Aloysius shook it and grinned, “You h’already know who I am…”

“Alo-shus?”

“…Just call me Parker.”

…………………………………………………………

“I’m pleased to say that I expect your husband to make a full recovery. In fact, I fully expect him to wake up any day now!”

It had been a little under three months since the incident at Tracy industries and Lucy had never been so happy to hear a piece of news. “Thank God!” she sighed, “Michael will be so relieved!”

………………………………………………

Michael was not relieved. He could have punched the doctor in the face when he told Michael the news with a stupid grin on his face.

Moron.

How on earth could this be good news?! The paperwork for him getting full control of the company would never go through now! His plans were ruined! Michael growled softly to himself as he stormed through the hospital corridors.

It was time for plan B.

…………………………………………………..

It had been a tiring, but thrilling couple of months for Parker. Long nights getting up with John in order to lead him to the toilet. John would often crawl onto the same mattress as Parker due to nightmares. However, one of the main changes to Parker’s schedule was having John as a lookout for some of his more…illegal activities.

“Parker?” 

Startled out of his thoughts, Parker glanced at John who was staring at a TV screen, located in the corner of the café. They had decided to use some of the money Parker had…acquired to buy themselves a nice lunch. To any other person watching, they looked like a Father (alright Grandfather) and Grandson pair, having lunch together…completely innocent.

“Yes m’boy, what is it. Do you need to get out of here? Is it too loud?” In the couple of months that Parker had spent with John, he had noticed that John tended to clam up in loud environments and was a very reserved person when it came to meeting strangers.

John shook his head and pointed at the TV, “Can you turn that up?”

Parker gestured to the cashier for them to turn the TV up. The news reporter that had, up to that point been silent, began to gesture to a hospital behind her.

“It has been almost three months since ex-astronaut, billionaire Jeff Tracy was admitted to this hospital with severe internal bleeding due to an accident at his development centre. However, recent statement from within the hospital has said that Mr Tracy is expected to wake up within the next few days. Mr Tracy’s business partner, Michael Davis, has not made himself available for an interview, but his lawyers have stated that he is very pleased with the news.

Other sources have stated that this may not be the case as new information has come to light that indicates that Mr Davis was planning to take full control of the company whilst Mr Tracy remained in a coma. With this recent news, it appears that this power play won’t be going ahead as planned.”

Parker rolled his eyes. Rich people were always fighting over money, it was the way of the world. He had yet to meet a decent one. He glanced at John who, much to Parker’s surprise, was crying. He quickly paid the bill and ushered the boy back to their little loft home.

Once inside, Parker knelt down so that he could look John in the eye. “Johnny…what’s wrong?”

John wiped his eyes and tried to catch his breath. “I-I thought I-I k-killed him!”

“Killed who? What are you talking h’about?”

“M-my Dad!”

“Your Dad? What are you-“Suddenly it clicked, “Jeff Tracy…your Dad h’is Jeff Tracy!?” 

John nodded, “M-Michael said that he was dead, that I killed him when I was playing in the gwavity wing!”

“Well he must ‘ave been mistaken….what, why were you playing in h’a gravity ring?”

“Michael said that my Dad had a supwise for me…”

Parker frowned, thinking back on what the news reporter said. “H’I believe that there may be somet’ing more sinister h’at foot here…we need to get to that hospital.”

“Why?”

“H’I believe that this Michael was trying to kill you h’and your Dad…that’s why those men were h’after you. He thought that your Dad would die h’in the hospital and that the men killed you. Now that your Dad h’is going to live, he might try somet’ing drastic!”

John shot off towards the door, “We’re in London, wight?”

“Right?”

John turned back to face Parker, “Then we have to go see Penny! She’ll know what to do…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there have been a couple of questions regarding the last chapter so I have made an effort to answer them to the best of my ability:
> 
> 1\. Jeff was unaware of Michael’s betrayal until it was too late because they were good friends and sometimes you can be blind to their true nature. Their early friendship will be highlighted din this chapter or the next just to highlight that Michael wasn’t always this way.
> 
> 2\. John does have a speech impediment (that I completely forgot to mention, yikes!) but with the toilet issue, because it's a new place, he'll need Parker to show him where it is. 
> 
> 3\. Lucy thinks John is dead because Michael told her and this will be addressed in a flashback in the upcoming chapter :)
> 
> 4\. Parker is probably a very lonely man at this point in his life and despite only meaning to let John stay with him for a bit, he got used to have him around and so decided to let him stay. Also, he did save John's life, so he probably developed a bond with him...I might write a separate story about how this came to be :)
> 
> The general opinion of this story is positive so I thank everyone for their wonderful reviews :). I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please kept the reviews coming!

“So…” Parker began as he and John headed down the street, John pulling his tattered hoodie (robbed by Parker) firmly over his face, “…Why ‘aven’t we done this sooner m’boy? H’I mean, if you knew this Penny lady was h’in London?”

They dipped into an alleyway and John sighed sadly as they rested for a bit. “I…guess I was scared. I thought I killed my Dad and I thought that if I went to Penny, then she’d hate me and call the cops!”

Parker nodded, “That makes sense…so ‘ow much further do we ‘ave to walk?”

He glanced at John who looked a little sheepish, “Well…she doesn’t exactly live in London…more like outside of it…”

“So…not within walking distance? H’is that what you’re saying?!”

“…Yeah”

Parker threw his hands up into the air, “Great, so what do we do now?!”

John gestured at a nearby car that was left near the entrance of the alleyway, “Do you know how to dwive?”

“That’s not the h’issue…the h’issue h’is finding a car to drive!” 

John stared at Parker disbelievingly before gesturing at the car again, “Can’t you hotwire the car? You’ve done it before!”

Parker peeked out of the alleyway and glanced both ways before racing over to the abandoned car. John couldn’t see what Parker was doing, but within minutes, the car door was open and Parker was rooting around under the dashboard. 

John raced over and clambered into the passenger seat just as the car began to rumble and start. Parker quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, closed the door and sped off. “H’okay…” he grunted, “…do you ‘ave any h’idea about where this Penny lives?”

John shrugged, “It’s a big house…kinda in the middle of nowhere.”

“H’okay…does she go by h’anything else, h’other than Penny? Doesn’t she ‘ave h’a last name?”

“Ummmm…O, Mommy once called her Lady Cweighton…Ward I think?”

Parker glanced at John quickly, surprise evident on his face. “Creighton Ward? Your family h’is friends with Lady Penelope Creighton Ward!?”

“Do you know her?”

“Know ‘er? That ‘ouse is h’every thief’s dream!”

“So you know where it is?”

“H’I do indeed Master Tracy. H’I do indeed.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jeff could just about hear the voices piercing through his consciousness. They were quiet, steadily increasing in volume as he tried to open his eyes, wincing as the bright light caused pain to shoot through his head.

“Jeff? Jeff sweetie?”

Lucy! He had to see his wife. Mustering up all of his strength, Jeff finally manage to open his eyes. The first sight that greeted him was his lovely Lucy’s face, a tiny face that could only belong to Alan quickly joining her.

Alan began to shriek excitedly, “Daddy! Daddy!”

These excited shrieks soon caught the attention of the other boys and soon Jeff was overcome by the babble and chatter of four relieved sons. Lucy attempted to try and calm them down, “Boys! Boys! Give your Dad some breathing room…I need to get the doctor!”

As she went to leave, a firm but gentle hand gripping her arm stopped her. She turned around in confusion, her eyes drawn to the panicked look on Jeff’s face. “Jeff? What is it?”

Jeff coughed, his voice blocked by weeks of disuse and general dryness. Scott helped him take a couple of sips of water which helped clear his throat. “…John?” he croaked.

Lucy shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “O Jeff...I’m so sorry…but Johnny didn’t make it!” she gestured to the toy astronaut beside Jeff’s head, “Michael found his body by yours…made a positive identification of his body…” Lucy trailed off as she remembered the moment when she received the terrible news.

….Flashback…..

“Michael! Michael, what is going on?!” Lucy shot up out of her seat when she saw her husband’s business partner, “Jeff’s been taken into surgery, but they’re not telling me anything about Johnny! What’s going on?!”

She was about to start pacing, her rant nowhere near over…but the look on Michael’s face stopped her in her tracks. “Michael? What’s wrong?”

Michael shook his head, “I am so sorry Lucy. Truly I am….but John didn’t make it. He was pronounced dead on the scene. We think he was playing with this…” he held up John’s toy astronaut, “…in the gravity ring just before a scheduled test was about to begin. Jeff tried to save him but it was too late for John…we’re lucky we got to Jeff! It was a horrible accident…”

Lucy practically snatched the toy out of Michael’s hands, “I need to see him, where’s my little boy!?”

Michael sighed, “You really don’t want to do that Lucy. The pressure from the gravity ring practically crushed him…it’s not a pretty sight. I’ve already made a positive identification…I didn’t want to put you through that.”

“You barely know him!”

“DNA proved it…you can ask the coroner if you want?” 

Lucy paused for a moment before shaking her head. “Maybe later…I need to wait for the boys.”

Michael nodded, but before he could walk away, Lucy’s voice stopped him. “Michael?” He span around, “Thank you Michael…”

He nodded before heading off towards the corridor.

….End Flashback….

“Lucy…” Jeff’s voice startled her out of her memories as she felt a sharp tug on her arm. Glancing down, she was slightly surprised to see Jeff’s eyes filling with tears. He opened his mouth again, “Michael…Murderer!”

…………………………………………………………….

John grinned as they shot down the cobbled driveway, the large house in the foreground getting closer and closer. “Me and my bwothers play in this garden all the time when we’re here!” He glanced at Parker, “Are you okay?”

Parker winced as they came closer and closer to the house, “H’I’m not sure this h’is h’a good h’idea”

“Why not?”

“Well…h’I’m not really cut h’out for polite company. Your friend may not wish to ‘elp h’us!”

“You don’t know Penny like I do…she’ll help”

They pulled up outside of the house and got out. Before they could knock, however, the door flung open and a young, blonde lady appeared in the doorway.

“John?” she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, “I thought it looked like you! I just saw a blonde boy from the window and my mind rushed to, what I thought was, the wrong conclusion!” She gently pulled John into a hug.

“When Lucy told me you were dead I-I just couldn’t believe it…but how!” She started to examine him, scanning his body for marks. Glancing up from her scan, she frowned at Parker who was shifting from side to side. “Is he the man responsible for your disappearance?!”

John gently patted the lady on the hand as he was led inside, “No Penny. He saved me! Michael is the one to blame!”

Penny looked shocked at this. “Mr Davis? I must admit, I’ve been concerned about his behaviour but what makes you think he had anything to do with this?”

John sighed, “It was him who told me Dad had a surpwise for me in the gwavity wing! He left and the wing started…he told me Dad was dead and that it was all my fault, that I should wun away! Then men began to follow me and twied to kill me, but Parker stopped them! We need to get to the hospital! Michael is going to do something to Dad!”

Penny nodded, pausing in thought as she stared at Parker, as if judging his worth. After what seemed like a millennium, she smiled. “Well, lucky for you I was about to head to the hospital. Apparently your Father has woken up, but aside from that, Mr Davis has given me no other information. We’ll head on down and see what’s going on…strictly under the radar mind you.”

She walked over to a hallway table and picked up a pre-packed bag. “Have you been trying to work on your R’s John?”

Confused at the question, John sheepishly admitted that he hadn’t been. Lady Penelope sighed, “Well, that gives us something to work on during the drive….Fetch the car Parker.”

Slightly shocked at the forwardness, Parker just nodded, “Yes M’Lady…where h’are they kept?”

“Just in the garage…forgive me if I don’t want to go in that wreck that you arrived in. You’ll find a have a much better collection.” She gestured at a door in the hallway, “It’s just through there, choose whichever one you want.”

Parker nodded before heading through the door into the garage. John and Lady Penelope waited for a few seconds until there was a yell from the garage.

“PINK?!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this next chapter, please read and review :)

“Guard the door, nobody comes in or out without my say so, understand!?” The guards nodded at Michael before he entered the room.

Upon entering, he realised that Jeff was awake and the rest of the Tracy family was staring at him. “Jefferson! I’m so glad to see you’re okay!”

Silence.

Michael shifted from one foot to the other uneasily. “I’m very sorry for your loss. I can only hope that you will be fully recovered soon!”

Silence.

Michael could feel that there was something wrong. This feeling was only supported when Lucy stood up and pointed at him. “You…it was you!”

Michael cocked his head to one side, “I’m not entirely sure what you mean Lucy?”

“You killed him!”

“Killed who?”

“My baby! Johnny!”

Michael shook his head, “Lucy…you’re stressed. John died in the gravity ring accident, and Jeff was injured in it!”

His eyes focused on Jeff, who was glaring at him. “I…still remember…Michael. I…remember what…you did! You knocked…me into…the ring…after promising to…kill Johnny!” Jeff croaked, his voice still rough from weeks of disuse.

Michael sighed wearily, “You’re confused Jefferson…You were injured trying to save John. I do admit that I should have kept a closer eye on John when you asked me too…but, I did not kill him!”

Jeff shook his head weakly, “No…you killed him!”

Michael opened his mouth to protest but soon closed it again, smirking as he did so. He held up his hands as a sign of surrender, “Alright Jeff…I admit it. I was expecting you to die when the incident happened. John was simply collateral damage…a problem that a couple of my boys, have assured me, has been taken care of…thoroughly. I assume they buried him somewhere secure…no body has been found after all…”

Lucy gasped, “B-but I asked the coroner…he said there was a body and a positive DNA match was made!”

Michael shrugged, “The benefits of money…enough will persuade any man to say whatever you want. Finding someone to convince you that John was dead and that it was inadvisable to see his body, was surprisingly easy.”

Suddenly, Michael doubled over due to a sudden weight impacting with his stomach. “YOU KILLED JOHNNY!!!!” screamed Scott as he punched and kicked his Dad’s business partner.

Michael sneered at the boy before backhanding him across the face, sending Scott to the ground. He was pulled back over to the rest of his family by Virgil as both Gordon and Alan began to scream. Lucy pulled her two youngest towards her and glared at Michael. “You won’t get away with this…” she growled, “…you’re in a public hospital, somebody is going to notice that something is going on. They’ll call the police and then you’ll be punished for what you’ve done!”

Michael smirked again, “Do you know how many employees Tracy Industries has? No? Thousands! I have a couple of hundred, heavily-armed supporters that are, as we speak, taking over this hospital. Soon, there will nobody on your side…and once I am finished with you, the company will be mine!”

Lucy shook her head, “Everyone will know that it’s you…they won’t give you anything!”

“Not if my men pretend they are a members of an extremist group…a group that stands against everything that Jeff Tracy stands for! Once the media finds out, I’ll be in the clear and your lawyers will have no choice but to sign the company over to me!”

Jeff attempted to get up before wincing and falling back down, “You won’t…get away with this!”

“O Jefferson…” sighed Michael, “…I already have.”

………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Wight…”

“R-ight”

“W-Right!”

“And again…”

“R-ight!”

Parker sighed wearily. This drive was taking way too long for his liking. After John had told Lady Penelope exactly what happened, the pair had begun to work on John’s speech impediment…and they had been doing this for the last half an hour…it was beginning to grate on Parker’s nerves. Then there was also the fact that he was driving a pink Rolls-Royce…his dignity would never recover.

“Parker?” Parker shook his head and looked in the rear-view mirror to find that Lady Penelope was staring at him.

“Yes M’Lady?”

“How much longer is it to the hospital?”

“H’ummmmmm, h’around 20 more minutes m’lady…”

“Excellent. I’ve tried to call Lucy but she isn’t responding….it might be time to forgo some of our traffic laws. Parker…step on the gas.”

“With pleasure m’lady!”

……………………………………………………….

“Why are you…doing this Michael?” Jeff asked, “You never used...to be like this! You were the best…man out our wedding for Christ’s sake!”

Michael sighed, “Back then, you had your eye on the goal. You had a fantastic career as an astronaut, which then became developed into a very successful company which I have been honoured to be a part of. But as soon as he arrived…” Here, Michael pointed at Scott, “…you seemed to lose all sense of direction…you weren’t invested in your work, you insisted about going home on time and spending time with your brats! Now, I could deal with two…but after John, it was like you just didn’t care about the business anymore! Suddenly, it was all about family…’O, would you mind going over this paperwork Michael? Virgil has a piano recital! O Scott needs someone to take him to football practice! Alan took his first steps, I need to be there! Sorry Michael, I promised to teach Gordon how to swim! Johnny’s having a bad day, I need to be at home!’ Every week, it’s something DIFFERENT!”

The family flinched as Michael slammed his cane down on the floor, his frustration clear on his face. Taking a deep breath, Michael attempted to calm down, squeezing his eyes shut before re-opening them…smirking as he did so. “No matter…soon it will all be over and I’ll finally have the power and respect that I deserve. The company will finally have a leader who actually cares about the company…not his family!”

…………………………………………………………

Parker sighed in relief as they pulled up at the back entrance of the hospital…a fool proof way to avoid the news team according to Lady Penelope. The three of them exited the vehicle to find an armed guard standing by the door. “What do you want?” the man grunted, his eyes widening in awe as Penelope sauntered up to him.

Lady Penelope smiled at the man as they strode up to him, “Goodness, with Jeff in the hospital, they’ve really stepped up the security haven’t they?” By this point, she was practically next to him. The man was too awestruck to even threaten her with his gun…that was his mistake. Within seconds, he was on the ground with Lady Penelope’s heel digging into his neck, his gun thrown away from him.

She smiled at him, “Now, here’s how this is going to work…I’m going to remove my heel from your neck...and you’re going to keep quiet. You’ll let us in and you’ll keep quiet about all of this. You won’t tell your colleagues about any of this…especially not Mr Davis.” 

The man flinched at the name, his head doing his best to nod as Penelope slowly removed her heel. He rubbed his throat as she clapped her hands together, “Excellent!” She exclaimed, “I do so love it when people are reasonable!”

The man scrambled off of the ground, waving the three of them into the hospital as he coughed and spluttered. John grinned as they ran creeped through the corridors. Thankfully for them, security seemed limited and they were able to sneak past armed guards with relative ease, making it to the elevator.

Once inside, they quickly made their way to the correct floor. There was a small room just outside of the elevator, which then led into the main corridor. Before John could make his way out into this corridor, he was held back by Parker. “Now, now John…” he muttered glancing around the area, keeping an ear out for any noises, “…we don’t know ‘ow many guards h’are there now do we?”

John pulled slightly before sighing and nodding, “So what do I do?”

“You’ll stay here John…” ordered Penelope as she used her makeup mirror to see down each end corridor, “…if Michael finds out you’re alive, he could so something drastic. It’s safer if you stay here…”

John pouted as Parker urged him further into the small room, back towards the elevator. “But-But-“

Lady Penelope held up her hand, “Ah, ah, ah, no buts! Stay here and we’ll go help your family…we’ll call for you when everything is safe. Meanwhile…” She handed John her phone, “I’ll need you to call the police…just in case.”

Parker frowned, “What do you mean we’ll call for you...h’aren’t h’I staying ‘ere?”

Penelope mock gasped, “You wouldn’t leave a defenceless young lady on her own would you? There’s two guards outside the room…in case you’re wondering…”” Without waiting for an answer, she stepped out into the corridor, looking into her bag as though she had just arrived on the floor.

Parker rolled his eyes before following, “Defenceless young lady my h’arse…” he muttered. Lady Penelope slowly walked up to the room where Jeff was staying, still pretending her mind was on whatever was in her bag. 

Suddenly she looked up and acted shocked to see the guards, “O my! Michael warned me that there would be extra security, but I didn’t think he would go this far! Do you know that horrible man at the entrance just tipped everything out of my bag?! As if I would have a weapon in it! Now, I can’t find anything!!! When I see Michael, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind, now let me in! He told me that he had”

The guards began to chuckle, “Of course, anything for Michael’s…friend? Douglas probably checked her thoroughly…her butler as well.”

Parker watched as Penelope got closer, her hand still in her bag, “I know, it’s so silly to think that I’m dangerous! I mean, do I look like I would carry a weapon around?!”

Before they could answer, the men found themselves on the floor, twitching as electricity flooded through them. Penelope smirked as she stared at them, detaching her double tazer gun. “”You bet I do…”

Parker grinned at the statement before quickly joining her at her side. Penelope was slowly testing the handle so as not to make any noise…sadly it was locked. She glanced at Parker and smiled, “You’re…a criminal right?”

“H’I prefer gentleman thief m’lady…”

“Excellent…pick the lock Parker, but quietly”

“Yes M’Lady…”

……………………………………………………………..

“You don’t have to do this Michael, please just let us go! Michael please-“

Michael held up his hand, silencing Lucy’s pleas. Glancing behind him, he slowly made his way over to the family, quickly snatching up a crying Gordon just as the door creaked open to reveal a young lady in pink and an older gentleman with a prominent nose.

“Aah, Lady Penelope…” greeted Michael as he gripped Gordon even tighter, making a threatening gesture with his cane, “…I must say, I was expecting you sooner my dear. And you brought company…how delightful! Please stand over with Jefferson and Lucy…I don’t want to have to hurt little Gordon here…and least not before it’s time.”

Parker and Penelope glanced at each other before holding up their hands in surrender, slowly making their way over to the Tracy family…taking care not to close the door behind them.

“You won’t get away with this!” stated Penelope as Michael placed Gordon back on the ground, smirking as the four year old ran to his mother.

Michael sighed, “It’s like I told Jefferson. I already have! And nothing is going to stand in my way once you’re all out of the way!”

Suddenly there was a tiny voice from the doorway, “Over my dead body!”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! There was a lot of support for that last chapter! I’m glad everyone enjoyed it :)
> 
> This will be the last chapter I’m sad to say, I hope Gordon fans will be happy to know that I will be doing a one shot on him next due to a request from a guest reviewer. So look out for that!
> 
> Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy it :)

Michael froze at the voice, slowly turning around to find John standing in the doorway, his little fists held up in front of him as John tried to look as threatening as possible. Michael gripped his cane and grimaced at the boy, “John?”

John frowned, “Yep…now let my family go!”

“I was told that you were dead…”

Parker scowled at this, “By who, those thugs you sent h’after ‘im? H’I think you’ll find that they lied h’if they told you that John was dead…when h’I left them with severe concussions, John was very much h’alive. H’a slight cut to the h’upper h’arm, but nothing serious…”

Michael frowned in confusion, thinking back to when Sid and Ed returned from their little…mission.

……Flashback…..

Michael grinned as the paramedics rushed Jeff off to the hospital, a nice wad of money in their pockets to ensure that they didn’t say anything about the missing body. He made a mental note to himself to pay off the coroner, so that he would say John died of internal bleeding instead of whatever way his men killed the child. Speaking of the devils…where are they?

Michael glanced around the area, pausing when he saw someone dart back into an alleyway. Checking to see that no-one was around, he slowly made his way over. Upon arriving, he sighed. “Sid. Ed. Thank goodness, I’m assuming the job is done?”

Sid nodded, “Yeah, boss….” He held up a bloody knife, “…Run him right through.”

Michael smiled, “Excellent…” He glanced around, “So…where’s the body?”

Sid and Ed turned to each other in shock before staring back at Michael, “We-we didn’t know you wanted it Boss. We put him and some rocks in a bag and threw him in the river…no one will find it, we swear!”

Michael rubbed the bridge of his nose, “You idiots! How the hell am I meant to bribe the coroner to say John died of internal bleeding, when we don’t even have a body as proof?!” 

Sid and Ed shrugged as Michael rolled his eyes, “Do you know how much money I’m going to have to spend now, in order to properly convince the coroner to say what I want?”

“Err, a lot Boss?”

“Exactly, a lot! The extra is coming out of your paycheck!” Michael yelled at them, taking some satisfaction in the way his two employees flinched. Focusing on the two men, he frowned as he spotted that they each had a large bruise on their forehead. “What happened?”

They frowned so Michael gestured to his forehead, “I didn’t realise that John was such a karate kid. Those bruises look quite nasty…”

Sid laughed, “O them! Nah, we just weren’t paying attention and walked into a lamppost…”

“Both of you?”

“Yes?”

Michael sighed, he knew they weren’t telling him the truth, but what could he do about it. Chances are, even if John was the reason behind those marks, they probably over-powered him. At that moment, the three of them were joined by Mindy.

“The cameras have been wiped Sir…” She began, “…it looks like a virus erased the footage, so no suspicion should fall on any of us.”

Michael nodded, “Excellent…now all we have to do, is wait for Jefferson to die and the company will be up for the taking.”

….End Flashback…

Michael scowled as the pieces began to fall into place, “Note to self…” he muttered, “…if you want a job doing properly…do it yourself.” As he moved forwards to try and grab the child, John was suddenly hoisted up in the air by one of the guards, who had recovered from his nasty shock.

“I’ve got him Boss!” the man grunted as John squirmed in his arms.

Michael began to slow clap, “Well done…I’m so glad you idiots are able to handle a small child! A young woman and an old man are clearly too much for you, but thank God you can handle him!” He placed his hands together, as if praying, ignoring Parker’s incredulous outburst of “OLD MAN?!”

The guard looked unsure to whether or not he should reply to Michael’s sarcastic commentary. His grip loosened on John, who took his chance. Squirming furiously, he managed to bring his elbow up out if the grip and rammed it backwards, cracking it against the guards chin. The man yelped in pain, bringing both hands up in order to cradle it. 

Due to this, John fell to the floor, scrambling to get to his feet as Michael growled in anger. “For God’s sake, GRAB HIM!!!” 

But it was too late, John shot off down the hallway, yelling behind him as he went. “Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me!”

Michael gripped his cane in his hand, and decided to go after him. He gestured at the large group of people in the room. “They go nowhere! Do you understand me?!” He yelled at the guards, one of which who was just waking up, “You have guns, shoot them if necessary!”

The guards nodded as Michael rushed after John, his cane clicking against the ground as John pushed open the doors to the stairs and began to run down them. Michael sighed, “Cute…the elevator is right there though!”

………………………………………………………….

John wheezed as he reached the bottom of the stairs in record time, his lungs aching with the strain of running away from Michael. “Scott…eat your heart out…” he panted, smiling as remembered how much Scott would tease him about his lack of sporting ability and his clumsiness when he did try. 

Suddenly, he heard the elevator arrive further down the hallway. He winced as he set off towards the entrance of the hospital, darting by a couple of guards as he did so. 

Sadly, he wasn’t quick enough.

Just as he reached the entrance, he felt a hand grab the back of his hoodie and haul him off of the floor, spinning him around so that John could look Michael in the eye.

“You little shit!” growled Michael as he shook John, who had begun to cry slightly, “You think you can stop me? Everyone already thinks you’re dead…I’m sure I can make it permanent! And when I’m done with you, I’ll finish off the rest of your family!”

Just as Michael finished the sentence, he was alarmed to see John grinning at him. Seconds later, there was another voice. “Michael Davis! Put the child and the cane down or we will be forced to shoot!” 

Slowly, Michael turned his head to see a barricade of policemen and SWAT members, all of which were pointing guns at him. Out of shock he dropped John to the ground and held up his hands in surrender. “W-what?” he gasped, confusion clear on his face.

He heard John giggle from behind him, “I called the police when Penny and Parker were getting into the w-room. I’m not an idiot you know! I wasn’t gonna twy…try and defeat you by myself! The lady on the phone seemed ve-ry surp-rised to hear f-rom me!” John exclaimed, being very careful to place emphasis on his R’s.

Michael just stared at the police, who were beginning to move closer, handcuffs at the ready. Michael sighed, “Bugger…”

……………………………………………………………

Jeff grinned as his Gordon and Alan began to pester the officers who had made their way to the room in which they were staying. The officers were expecting to encounter guards in their room, however, due to Parker’s quick thinking and Lady Penelope’s charms, the guards were on the floor…under Penelope and Parker’s shoes.

Gordon and Alan had recovered from the shock of being held captive very quickly, and the poor officers were beginning to look over-whelmed at the attention. 

“Alright, alright boys…” laughed Jeff, “…let the poor men do their jobs.”

The boys slowly made their way back to their mother, who was pacing the floor near the paramedics. “Where is he?” She muttered, “Where’s Johnny?”

Scott and Virgil shrugged as they watched Michael Davis being led into a police van. “Dunno…”answered Scott, “…but Michael is going to jail, so he must have done something…right?”

Lucy shook her head, “He could still be hurt though!”

Silence.

Jeff knew that his wife was right…there was the chance that John had been seriously hurt whilst trying to get away from Michael, or even killed! Jeff sighed. The police weren’t saying anything and there had been no sign of John since he’d appeared in the doorway.

Suddenly the family heard quick footsteps echoing throughout the corridors, followed closely by a tiny voice. “MOMMY! DADDY!” 

Lucy gasped and ran out into the hallway, just in time to catch a small body that launched itself at her. “Johnny!” she cried, falling to her knees as her son sobbed into her shoulder.

“Mommy, mommy! I was so scared!” John sobbed, as Lucy lifted herself and John up off of the floor. She walked back into the room, only for the two of them to be bombarded by four boys who were babbling and chattering to John.

Despite them being very happy to see their brother, Lucy walked straight over to Jeff’s bed and gently placed John down beside him. John huddled into himself as his Dad gently placed an arm around his shoulder in order to encourage John to lie down beside him. “Hey…” cooed Jeff soothingly, “…hey, it’s alright Starman. You’ve had a very stressful few weeks haven’t you?”

John stared at his Dad, tears still falling down his cheeks and nodded. Jeff smiled as he began to stroke John’s hair, his other arm diving under the covers in order to pull out John’s toy astronaut. John reached out for it, a teary smile on his face. “Neil!”

Jeff laughed as he handed to toy over to John, “Yeah. This brave astronaut of yours…he saved me. He protected me whilst I wasn’t feeling well…I bet he learnt that off you.”

John shook his head. “No…he learnt it off you…”

………………………………………………………………………………..

Parker and Penelope smiled at the scene, before Penelope sighed, “You know Parker…you’re not as bad as I originally thought. How does a job sound to you?”

Parker glanced at her, “What’s the catch m’lady?”

“There isn’t one. You get a house, money and food in exchange for helping me with some of my day to day activities. You will be a combination of a butler and a chauffeur. Sound agreeable?”

Parker thought for a moment before nodding in agreement, “H’okay…h’one question though?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Do h’I ‘ave permission to change the colour h’of h’a few h’of your cars?”

“Hmmmm, no. Trust me when I say that you’ll get used to it.” Penelope glanced back at the Tracy family and smiled, “You know…Lucy was thinking of taking her family on holiday next year. I might recommend a place for her.”

“H’o, h’and where were you thinking h’of sending them?”

“Hmmm…skiing perhaps. I have a lovely cabin at a ski lodge in the Alps.”

“H’an h’excellent choice m’lady.”

………………………………Epilogue………………………………..

“Open Gate F!” Michael glanced up from his book at the cry. It had been 20 years since he was found guilty of attempted murder, assault and the endangerment of a minor and everytime the guard made that announcement, he hoped it was his lawyer, coming to tell him that his request for parole had been granted. 

It never was though.

Sighing to himself, Michael turned his attention back to his book. He heard footsteps approach his cell until they stopped just outside. Slowly, he raised his head in order to see who it was and found himself pleasantly surprised. “Jefferson! How lovely, I very rarely get visitors you know…strange.”

Jeff grimaced, “Yeah, trying to murder a child does paint a negative image of you.”

“Hmmm, how is John by the way? From what I recall, he wasn’t the best at social situations….desk job I assume?”

“No. NASA identified John as a genius and brought him on to their programme at quite an early age. He’s in space right this moment on a…special project.”

“How wonderful…O, I heard about your wife, very sorry to hear what happened to her.”

“Your condolences aren’t required…”

“Then why are you here?”

“…I heard about the diagnosis. Cancer…fourth stage. Six months to live.”

Michael bowed his head, “Come to gloat have we Jefferson Come to watch me die?”

Jeff shook his head, “No…I’m not that sort of person. I guess I just wanted to see if you had any remorse about what happened all those years ago…”

Silence

Jeff sighed, “Yeah…I didn’t think so” And with that he walked away, the echoes of guards’ commands ringing throughout the prison. 

It’s strange what ends someone’s life…can also bring closure to another.


End file.
